Electrician&#39;s tool



Jan. 22, 1 929. 1,699,805

. H. M. OCKO ELEOTRIGIANS TOOL Filed Oct. 1, 1927 1N VENY OR.

A TT NEYS.

Patented Jan. 22, 1929.

V UNITED STATES HARRY M. OGKO, 0F MONSEY, NEW YORK.

ELECTRICIAN S TOOL.

Application filed October 1, 192?. Serial No. 223,257.

This invention is a tool intended for use by electricians for preparing wire for splicing, soldering, or otherwise securing the wire to another wire or part. vVire usetl for commercial electric workis generally insulated by a suitable covering or envelope, and, in many instances, is enclosed within a metallic casing edged implement is thereuponemployed to scrape or brighten the wire so that it will make a goodelectrical contact withthepart with which it is to cooperate.

Moreover, in the stripping if Wire, the first step of this operation generally consists in cutting through the insulation by the use of a knife or other sharp. implement; My experience has been that it is extremely diflicult to thus cut the insulation without cutting the wire. This is particularly true when working with stranded wires, where the strands are light and easily out. It isnot uncommon to cut one or more of these strands free during this operation, whereby the efficiency of the wire to carry current is not only reduced but in many instances a dangerous condition may result. y

With the foregoing considerations in mind, the object of the present invention is to provide a simple, unitary device comprising a tool capable of carrying out all of the opera tions to which I have referred in asimple and efiicient manner and more satisfactorily than the ligmplements previously employed for this wor r The present invention, therefore, in its broad aspect embodies a tool so formed as to provide for the cutting of a wire to length, the slitting of the envelope of BX cable, and the stripping of the insulation from the wire and the brighteningof the wire prior to its con nection to another wire or some other cooperating part. All of these functions are per- In its preferred practical form, the tool of i this invention has an appearance similar in some respects to pliers. It embodies handles pivoted together and extended beyond the pivot to form cooperatingjaws. Thecontiguous faces of the jaws are cutaway for a portion of their length to form sharp coacting edges adapted to serve as Wire cutters and be yond these sharp edge portions of the jaws, said jaws are formed to coact flatly withone another and come into face abutting relation to, provide a wire twisting portion. This wire twisting portion is extended laterally from one face of the tool to form a thin, keen scraping blade for brightening the wire and this blade, which is divided equally in its extent between the two jaws, is formed at the line of parting between the sections of its length with a circular shaped cutter in the form of a perforation, the edges of which are sharp. The perforation is of a diameter slightly in excess of the commercial wire sizes,

but sufficiently small,so that when this cutter operates upon an insulated wire, it will bite well into the insulation without nicking or cutting the wire wherebythe portion of the insulation to be removed is suiiiciently isolated or severed from the remainder of the insulation as to permitit tobe readily withdrawn if tension is placed on the tool while in cooperative relation with the Wire as stated.

1 preferably also provide the tool with a cutting spur having a sharp edge and tapered to a sharp point, this spur being particularly useful in that itmay be introduced through H the envelope of a double wire cable to cut the envelope and separate the wires without, however, cutting the insulation of the individual wires enclosed in the envelope. This is an operation difiicult to perform with a knife, but very easily performed with a tool having a spur as specified.

Features of the invention, other than those specified, will be apparent from the hereinafter detailed description and claims, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The accompanying drawing illustrates one practical embodiment of the invention, but

invention;

the construction therein shown is to be understood as illustrative,.only, and not as defining the limits of the invention.

Figure 1 is asideelevation of the tool embodying the present invention.

Figure 2 is a section on the line 22 of Figure 1. i i s Figure 3 shows the manner in which the tool of this invention may be employed to slit the envelope of double wire cable and to thereby strip the insulation from the wires individually: Figure 4 shows the manner in which the present invention is employed to twist two wires together.

Figure 5 shows the tool in the operation of scraping or brightening a wire. Referring to the drawings, 1 and 2 designate two handles of any suitable andconvenient shape which are secured together b a pivot 3. Beyond the pivot 3, the han- (1 es are extended to form jaws 5 and 6. These jaws terminatein a substantially flat end 7, as shown in Figure 1. About midway between the end 7 and the pivot 3, the jaws 5 and 6 are shaped to formcoacting cutting edges 8 and 9 adapted to cooperate in the cutting ofa wire indicated at w in Figure 2 and beyond these cutting edges, the jaws are made of full thickness and may be extended laterally in one direction, as shown at 10 and 11 to provide fairly broad gripping faces 12 and 13 formed respectively on the contiguous faces of the jaws 5 and 6. Both jaws are, moreover, extended laterally in the opposite direction to form a relatively thin cutting blade 14 having a keen edge 15. The blade 14: is formed conjointly on both jaws as clearly illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, so that one half the length of the blade is carried byeach jaw.

These two blade sections separate along the line 16 when the jaws are separated, but when the jaws are closed, the edge 15 of the blade .is continuous throughout its whole length.

Extending through the blade and disposed equally at opposite sides of the line 16, so

as to be formed equally in both sections of the blade, is a countersunk perforation 17. By countersinking this perforation, the edge thereof is rendered sharp, so that there is I thereby produced in each section of the blade a semi circular shaped cutter to be used in stripping insulation from wire as will hereinafter be more fully explained.

18 designates a spur carried by and projecting from the outer edge of thejaw 6. This spur is tapered to a point and itsedge 19 is sharpened. This spur is preferably formed on the tool of this invention, but it may be omitted without departing from this The whole construction is preferably forged, machined and ground, so that the cutters will be sharp andefiicient in their operations and the parts will properly coact with one another.

The tool of this invention may be employed byelectricians working on any form of wire generally used for commercial Wiring. For the purpose of illustration, however, I have illustrated its. uses in the drawings in connection with the well known BX cable, but I wish it clearly understood that it is not limited in this connection. However, in the preparation of a BX cable, if it be assumed that the metal casing 10 has been removed from the end of the cable, the tool may be used in the following manner.

The spur 18 is first thrust through theenvelope 10 so as to penetrate the envelope at both sides thereof and pass between the wires w which are housed within this envelope. If the cable is now held by one hand while the tool is drawn toward the free end of the cable by thefother hand, the sharp edge 19 j of the spur will slit the envelope indicated at 20 and this slitted portion may be contin: ne d in a direction to the left in Figure 3 until the envelope is slit to the very end of the cable. Theslittedportion of theenvelope may then be removed leaving the insulated wires which were housed therein uncovered. If the tool is now brought into a position wherein the semicircular cutters, formed by the perforations 17, will be juxtaposed with tool may bedrawn to the "left as viewed in Figure 3 to strip from the wire the portion w of the insulation which has been severed by the cutting operation.

I wish to place particular stress at this point upon the fact that the erforation 17 is made sufiicientlylarge so t at the sharp edges of the circular cutter will not engage with the wire w. In other words, the diameter of the perforation 17 is greater than the wire w, and, accordingly, the wire will not be cut or nicked in any wayduring the o eration of stripping the severed portion 0 the insulation. This is particularly important when operating upon strandedwire and practical operation of "the tool has shown that stranded wire may be stripped in the manner specified without severing any of the fine strands thereof.

After both of the wires to have been stripped in the manner stated, the resulting uncovered portions of the wires are scraped and brightened after the manner shown in Figure 5 by scra in said wires with the sharp edge 15 of t e b ads 14.

When the wires have been scraped and are bright, they may be secured to another wire by twisting, soldering OrOthQIWlSG. In Figure 4;,the manner in which the tool is forn'iance of its intended functions and does ietter work than the separate tools heretofore employed in this connection. Moreover, the structure is such that it may be made of minimum weight, so that it may be conveniently handled. In this connection, it should be noted that the relatively thin blade 14- s mounted upon the rigid jaws which serve to impart rigidity to the blade and enable it to be made very light. The same is true of the spur 18 which is mounted on the jaw 6 in a manner to back up and support the jaw in such a way that the spur will withstand the strains of long continued use without wreaking.

The foregoing detailed description sets forth the invention in its preferred practical form. It will be apparent, however, that mechanical changes may be made, such as. by the substitution of equivalents or by the omission of certain elements of the present tool,

and I therefore wish it understood that the invention is to be understood as fully coininensurate with the appended claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an electricians tool, a pair of handles pivotally connected together and extending beyond the pivot to form coacting jaws, a portion of the length of the contiguous faces of said jaws being shaped to constitute fiat gripping faces and the lateral edges of the jaws being tapered and shaped to form laterally projecting knife blade sections on both of said jaws, collectively constituting a knife blade, and coacting semi-circular cutters formed in the contiguous faces of the jaws.

2. In an electricians tool, a pair of handles pivotally connected together and extending beyond the pivot to form coasting T-shaped jaws having flat ends, a portion of the length of the contiguous faces of said jaws being shaped to constitute flat gripping faces and the lateral edges of the jaws being tapered and shaped to form laterally projecting knife blade sections on both of said jaws, collectively constituting a knife blade. and coacting semi-circular cutters formed in the contiguous faces of the jaws.

In testimony whereof I have signed the foregoing specification.

HARRY M. OCKO. 

